Continue The Line
by Nienna100
Summary: AU The Puppies discover that Remus is pregnant with Sirius' children. Starts during OOTP, ends during HBP, though vaguely noncompliant timeline. Mpreg Slash
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I never will. They belong to the über talented J.K.Rowling **

**A/N: I refuse to let flames work anymore, I've learnt my lesson. If you don't like slash or mPreg, don't read it. Please review, _constructive_ criticism is appreciated and acted upon.**

"Come on Remus, have some food. Scrambled eggs, bacon, kippers..." Sirius cajoled, wafting a plate of sausages under Remus' nose.

The werewolf, looking sickly green, refused with a shake of his head.

They were sitting in the basement kitchen of Grimmauld Place, Sirius on one side of the table and his lover on the other , "Please Re!" he tried.

Remus shook his head again, and suddenly turned greener.

He sprinted up the steps and into the hallway, Sirius not far behind. The werewolf's stomach heaved and then all of a sudden he could not control it anymore. He vomited onto the stairs. Sirius skidded to a halt at the base of the steps as Remus fell backwards into his arms

"Re, Remus, honey," Sirius shook the man gently, "Remus love, wake up."

Opening an eye blearily, Remus looked up into Sirius' face.

"Oh Merlin," he said before wrenching himself out of Sirius' arms and onto the floor, where he threw up again and again. He felt the blood vessels in his eyes burst painfully as the acid was expelled. Soon it became dry retches and heaves, and Sirius' arms were around him; nose nuzzling his neck gently and rocking him rocking him back and forth as he muttered nonsense words.

After a moment Remus muttered "Sirius, you're squeezing too tight. It hurts"

Sirius released his lover slightly and turned him around so that they faced each other. Remus' face was drawn and his golden eyes were exhausted. Laying a palm on his forehead, Sirius said "You're not warm and yet you look awful, even by full-moon standards. I know it's tonight, but you shouldn't look so bad. You did take your potion, didn't you?? The symptoms will be worse if you…"

He was cut off by Remus' angry exclamation, "How can you think I would do that? That I would risk you, let alone my own health? How can you even suggest that, Sirius?"

Colour draining from his face, Sirius wiped away the furious tear that fell from Remus' eye "Re, you know I don't mean that"

"Then what did you mean, Sirius?" demanded Remus

"I was worried for you love, is that so wrong?" asked Sirius "I know you don't look after yourself properly. I know you've been failing at that life skill since you were a kid. I know Re! But it's not going to hurt if I worry about you just a little because you just threw up on my stairs like there was no tomorrow."

"Sorry" Remus murmured.

"Now, what's wrong, love? Please tell me."

"I dunno. I've felt tired after since last full moon, but I blamed you for that. You should have known better than to shag me right after my transformation. The moon was only hidden behind the hills as well. It hadn't even set and I transformed again after!"

"If I remember correctly you responded." Sirius protested.

"Ok, ok. Since then I've had nausea, been tired, erm... that's it. That was the first time I've thrown up.

Sirius nodded, satisfied, and pulled Remus to his feet "Come on my bonny lad. You are going to bed. I don't know if that will help but we'll try. If you're tired you rest. I wish you'd listen to your body. Remember the time you collapsed and cracked your head open after your transformation?"

"Vividly. To a point. But if I listened to my body's wishes then I'd be a wolf constantly."

They approached the bedroom and Sirius kissed Remus tenderly "Go on, go in. I'll bring you up a drink, love"

Remus nodded and went into the bedroom whilst Sirius galloped down the stairs. At the bottom of the steps he almost slipped in the contents of Remus' stomach, but he slid out of the way just in time. As a result, he thumped down the remaining stairs and landed in a heap outside his mother's portrait.

The curtains opened with a dreadful slowness: his mother had become less furious but more malicious now that only her son and his lover were left in the house

"Nice of you to drop by, my son" the crone leered.

"Shut up." Sirius hissed.

"That's no way to speak to the woman who gave you a life to ruin, is it?"

Sirius sprang to his feet and made to interrupt.

"That wolfy of yours is hiding something."

"Shut up!"

"He's not telling you..." the rest of the sentence was cut off abruptly as Sirius wrenched the curtains closed.

"Stupid cow." he muttered as he cleaned the step with a whip of his wand. He then got a glass of water, a cup of tea, stepped out of the kitchen, changed his mind and summoned a cup of orange juice as well. He sent them floating up before him as he strode up the stairs two at a time on his long legs.

Remus was already beneath the bed covers in the bedroom, looking even paler under the cream sheets.

"I have jûs de orange, wasser und erm... tea" Sirius pronounced, "What does my love desire?"

"Your love desires tea if you would be so kind."

Sitting on the bed, the wanted criminal put his hands under Remus' shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position.

"Your love also desires that you stop treating him like an invalid, Mr Black." Remus said dryly, "I'm not ill, it's just full moon."

"Sure it is. Now drink up then go to sleep. I'm going to try and fine Kreacher again." said Sirius walking out the door, "Sleep."

He left Remus alone.

**oo0oo **

Checking on Remus twice that day, Sirius found him still sleeping on his side, curled up into a ball the way he always did before full moon. It was cute, one of the sweeter sides of the werewolf.

Sirius found Kreacher hiding in a nest in one of the cupboards in the drawing room. After wrenching him out and performing a body bind, he shoved him back into the cupboard and locked it.

"If you like it so much in there you can stay." he spat and cast a spell to stop the elf's magic, thinking of Harry.

At seven Remus was still sleeping, restlessly now, and Sirius was getting worried: the moonrise was in quarter of an hour and the werewolf hadn't eaten all day. Sirius knew from experience that if Remus didn't eat, the transformation would only be more ravaging upon his body.

"Remus, love." Sirius forced himself to wake the man, who was still as ashen as that morning. "You have to wake up and get to the basement. Moony, love?"

"Go away you bastard" mumbled Remus.

"Bastard indeed. Get up or I shall force you to."

Remus rolled over, "All right, all right. I'm up" he sighed heavily for a minute then dragged himself out of the blankets.

"Fifteen minutes, Re." Sirius reminded, "Come on. I'm being responsible here. Now get a move on."

Sirius took the werewolf's hand and pulled him out of the room, as Remus muttered "It's about time you grew up" mutinously.

"Thank ye kindly lad. Now stop being resentful and get down those stairs please."

The cheerfully bickering couple descended into the basement. Sirius sat on the last whole chair and watched Remus change. The werewolf stripped down hastily. Once he had parted company with his robes, he sat on a wooden box. He gave an embarrassed smile a his stomach rumbled.

"Sorry. I haven't eaten all day."

"I know, Moons." Sirius grinning "That's why I brought this."

He threw a slab of chocolate onto his lover's lap.

"I thank you, my friend." Remus said, swallowing the chocolate with indecent speed.

"Calm down." Sirius warned, "You'll only make yourself sick again." He was smirking.

Once Remus had gulped the rest of the sweet food down, Sirius checked his watch. One minute until moonrise. He walked over to Remus and pulled him up into a hug. The nuzzled each other gently, knowing from experience that if they kissed too near the moonrise, the wolf would rear inside Remus and make him bite his lover.

Remus drew away first. "It's happening." he croaked. He stumbled almost blindly away but Sirius laid a hand on the werewolf's shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'm here and you are safe from yourself and all others." It was all he could say, but it was something he said every full moon.

In a tiny, hushed voice, Remus said "Sirius, I feel…"

Then suddenly he fainted for the second time that day. Sirius wrenched him into his arms, thankful for his unusually quick reactions. Remus was pallid as death himself. Only his shallow breathing told Sirius that his friend was alive. Sirius half expected Remus to open his eyes and yell April Fool, but he reminded himself that April Fools Day had passed three weeks ago. He shook the thin form and begged him to wake, but after holding him for a full five minutes, Sirius decided to risk taking him up to the living room.

He shifted Remus into his arms properly and manoeuvred himself and his lover up the stairs and into the lounge. He laid him down gently onto the sofa and summoned a book from the library. He knew that to use magic on a werewolf after moonrise could endanger the wolf's life, so he resorted to sitting on the arm of the sofa and stroking his lover's cheek

"Wake up, Re." He whispered softly.

**oo0oo **

At sixteen minutes past five, Remus gave a shudder and opened his golden eyes "What happened?" he groaned to the embellished ceiling above.

"I was hoping that you knew the answer to that question," Sirius said.

Remus turned his head stiffly, "What d'you mean?"

"I mean that I have no idea. You dropped into a dead faint straight after moonrise." He snapped the book closed, "You didn't transform. You just lay there."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Remus said "I have no idea. I don't remember anything."

He sat up and Sirius said "Easy now." as he slid down to join the werewolf. With a hand around his waist, Remus leaned against his lover.

"I really don't have any idea."

"And I believe you. But I need to know something, Re. See, I was reading and I think I might have an idea. Sit still a sec?"

"Sure thing." Remus sat up properly.

Sirius took out his wand and waved it, murmuring a spell. There was a flash of silver light and Sirius' eyes widened.

"I was right."

"That comes as no surprise. Now spill. What the hell happened today?"

"You collapsed because you are pregnant, Re. With my kids."

**Hi guys, another Remus/Sirius story. One cannot resist the charms. I hope you enjoyed it, I enjoyed thinking up the idea and writing it. I wanted to write something quite light-hearted and not overly serious, whilst slightly out of the bounds of reality because that's more fun to write about. To read? I don't know, you tell me. **

**A shout of thanks to my awesome beta ****Gwynhafara who also beta's A Dozen Days and does an awesome job on this too. **

**Reviews wanted and loved as usual. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I never will. They belong to the über talented J.K.Rowling **

**A/N: I refuse to let flames work anymore, I've learnt my lesson. If you don't like slash or mPreg, don't read it. Please review, **_**constructive**_** criticism is appreciated and acted upon.**

Remus laughed "Are you sure you didn't hit your head whilst I was out?"

Holding up the book he had been reading, Sirius said "A Werewolf's Anatomy. It says right here that if, in the unlikely circumstance, that a werewolf mates before the moon has actually set, he or she becomes pregnant. One hundred percent. This was written by Damocles Belby and his father, who was a werewolf. That was how Damocles was conceived, though his brother was natural. There's no doubt"

"There can always be doubts of your sanity Sirius" Remus replied, narrowing his eyes

Sirius shrugged "What other explanation is there for your collapse? You didn't transform Re. I sat here for hours waiting for you to wake up. Hoping you'd wake up. And the spell confirmed it"

"It's impossible" argued Remus

"Honey, you saw the spell. Silver means you're pregnant, gold mean's your not"

"That's not all. It's also an impossible situation, even if it was true. You're a convict on the run; I'm a werewolf on active Order duty. We can't raise children in the war"

"Of course we can," Sirius was shaking his head "And it's not kid, it's kids, Plural"

"What?" Remus exclaimed "Now you really are being idiotic"

"No, no it's true. Look here 'those infected with lycanthropy conceive more than one child, due to the lupine "litter" genetics. In the harsh world of the lycan only the strongest survive, hence the need to produce as many offspring as possible, simultaneously increasing the chances of a bite to the offspring' " Sirius' grey eyes were bright

"This brings me to the next issue. Were this true, I couldn't turn my children into werewolves"

Sighing, Sirius said "You aren't paying attention. I practically just said that they aren't born lycans. They have to be bitten, and there's no way I would ever let you bite them. I'd stop you and you know it"

"Quit it. You're just being ridiculous now. Your jokes are hilarious and all but this is just… ridiculous!" Remus shouted

With a final shriek of rage, he stormed out the room. Sirius stood to go after him but heard the front door slam. He hoped for a ruse, but when he entered the hall it was starkly bare. He slumped onto the stairs

"He'll hurt my grandchildren if he continues his strops" a sly voice said

"Shut it hag"

"You forget that I was the one who told you your pet was hiding something. I heard, I knew" Sirius' mother said

"Do you want a medal for it or something?" Sirius asked savagely

"You'd throw it away during one of your cleaning sprees no doubt"

Abruptly, Sirius stood and walked to the door. He transformed easily into a dog and nosed the door open, then trotted down into the street. No one was around so it was easy to trace the scent of Remus, which was unmistakable to the Animagus.

His nose took him down long streets, getting into seedier and seedier parts of town. He passed several wasted druggies and a drunk, who threw a glass bottle at him. It smashed on the wall, glass diamonds scattering on the pavement. Sirius continued onwards, intent on his goal. Only Remus was important at that moment.

It wasn't long until he found him, slouched against a wall drinking Firewhisky with his eyes closed. Gently, Sirius nudged his nose against Remus' knee

"You shouldn't be here" Remus said without opening his eyes

"Neither should you" Sirius said once he'd transformed

"I can be anywhere"

"I can be worried. Speaking of which, as a worried lover, you should not be drinking in your condition"

Remus' eyes snapped open "There is no proof of any condition"

"Please stop denying it love. Ask yourself, ask your body" Sirius begged

"It just can't be" Remus repeated, "We can't have kids like this Sirius, and the Ministry will take them. You remember Umbridge's new law: single werewolves have their children taken into care. You can't count as a partner. We aren't trusted to see that we don't bite our own children"

Hearing the bitter tone, Sirius turned Remus' head so they were facing "I won't let them. You never let them find me. I won't let them find you"

Remus tore his face away and stood "I'm going. I just need to get away. To go. Can I use your basement for next full moon?"

Without waiting for an answer, Remus apparated out of the alley, leaving Sirius alone.

oo0oo

Four weeks later, in the middle of May, Sirius heard his front door slam and his mother start laughing. It was barely seven o'clock in the evening, there was no Order meeting and the house was empty. Walking out of the kitchen, Sirius saw the flash of crimson blood on his floor. Then he saw where the blood was coming from

"Snivellus" Sirius snarled

"Is this really the time for name calling?" Severus Snape growled back, wincing. Blood was pouring from innumerable wounds

"What the hell happened?"

"Death Eater meeting"

"Who?" Sirius took out his wand, repulsed at his own Gryffindorness, and started to heal the wounds on his face

"Malfoy" Snape waved his hands, then grabbed onto Sirius' shoulder for support "Don't bother, just… get off"

Snape frowned as Sirius shook his head "you'll fall. Now sit down on the floor"

"Don't boss me"

"Fine, fine" Sirius said, holding up his hands, "Fine do it yourself"

He walked backwards out of Snape's grasp and watched the man keel over onto the floor "So you're fine are you?"

"For Merlin's sake help me then" Snape said

Smiling wryly, Sirius knelt down and undid the buttons on the Potions Master's blood-soaked robes

"What the hell are you doing now?"

"I can't heal you with your clothes on can I?"

As the shirt came off, both men caught sight of a mangled chest. All colour left Snape's face and he fainted, his head falling into Sirius' lap.

At that moment the door opened and Remus walked into Grimmauld Place for the first time in 28 days. His eyes widened as they took in a bare torso, a head in Sirius' lap, Sirius looking up and down between Remus and the man

Sirius saw the golden eyes fill with tears and then Remus was gone with a slam of the door

"Bloody hell" Sirius said, lifting Snape off him easily and running to the nearest fireplace. He threw in the powder and yelled "Minerva." Then he ran back to Snape and carried him into the dining room, all the while muttering "damn, damn, damn, it's full moon. Oh God damn it all." He shoved Snape through the fire, hopefully into Minerva McGonagall's fireplace and sprinted to the door.

He hesitated for only a nanosecond to cast a small glamour, before stepping out into the square. At once he saw Remus' tense body on the bench nearest to his house

"Re," Sirius called. There was no response so he walked over to the bench and sat down heavily next to the lycan, "Remus you know that…"

Remus refused to look at Sirius, but said "What do I know anymore? You move on fast don't you Padfoot? You always have. But I never thought that you would go with anyone at a time like this"

"Love, listen to me. That was Snape. He came back injured and then collapsed. I had to help him"

Turning to Sirius, his eyes anguished, Remus said "Look I can't deal with this right now. Not like this. I'm just going to use your basement, just to be sure"

He stood to leave but Sirius grabbed him by the arm

"What do you mean 'a time like this'?"

"Does it really matter to you? Or do you just want the satisfaction of knowing you were right? Ok, I'll give you that: I'm pregnant. But they won't be there for long, I'm seeing Poppy tomorrow," Remus said as he pulled away and started walking to the house

"Whoa, whoa" Sirius gasped, catching up, "You're aborting our kids?"

Remus turned "Why shouldn't I? I can't bring up children in this and neither can you, even if we are together"

"Don't you think you're moving through this a little fast? We were happy together. I only baked off because I thought you'd come back. I can't live without you. Don't you remember us? Don't you remember our love?"

"It's all moot point. Don't you see that?"

"Lily and James brought up Harry. I love you, I will love our children" Sirius argued. He brought Remus towards him, and first kissed the tears away from the pale cheeks then moved to the lips and kissed him hard and passionately. Then he whispered into Remus' ear "Please Re. You must have come here for a reason, hoping I'd say the right thing. All I can say is the truth"

Remus gave up and lent against him "I can't do this Sirius. It's just too difficult"

"And I'm here for that reason Re, look come inside the house, no doubt we're making a scene" Sirius reasoned

"I'm sorry" said Remus as they walked into the house

"I don't mind. But please Re," Sirius said "Don't abort. Can't we talk about it first?"

Sirius closed the door as Remus nodded

"I just can't do this alone. You have to help me Sirius, because I just _can't_"

They sat down on the sofa in the front sitting room together, "I can sort this out for you love. We can do this together. Just trust me"

"Ok," Remus gulped "I'll try"

"Thank you. That's all I ask"

"Moon's rising"

"Lie down," said Sirius

Nodding, Remus lay down on the sofa, whilst Sirius slid to the floor, facing away from the sofa. Remus pulled his fingers through Sirius' ragged hair

"Do you know how many you're having? We're having?" Sirius asked

"Not yet" said Remus, his voice thickening

"We'll find out?"

"Yes"

"You know I'd do anything for you, don't you?"

There was no answer so Sirius turned and found Remus unconscious: the moon had risen.

Gently, Sirius moved Remus' hands away from his stomach and lifted up his shirt. There was a small bulge on the normally-toned flesh, barely noticeable yet still raised. Sirius caressed with a tender smile.

Then he waited for Remus to wake

oo0oo

When Remus emerged from unconscious, he looked down to find a warm hand on his stomach and Sirius' head lolling on the edge of the sofa

"Love wake up" he whispered, and Sirius started

"Are you alright?" asked Sirius

"Fine. Tired, hungry" Remus replied

"Breakfast?"

"Please"

They walked into the kitchen, arm in arm, only to find the kitchen bare of food

"You're hopeless Padfoot. I'm not even away for a month and you starve to death. There's no way I'm ever going to leave you in charge of our kids if you can't look after yourself" Remus joked as he opened the cupboard that held the goblets

"I'd say we should go out but…" Sirius looked up at Remus "Wait, Re don't!" he shouted too late

A high pitched scream filled the kitchen and Remus fell down to the floor

"Ow ow ow" he panted, cradling his hand

"Stupid silver goblets. You've been out too long" Sirius said, pulling Remus up and over to the sink. He plugged the sink with a squelch and ran the cool water

Weeping in pain, Remus put his scarlet, blistering flesh under the water. Sirius was still holding onto Remus and pulled a chair over with his foot, scooting it under the agonised werewolf

"Sit down Re" Sirius sank down with his trembling lover, "I'm going to get someone to take you to St. Mungo's. Damn no. they'll find out you're pregnant. Look I'll sort it, I'll sort it for you Re"

He pulled away as Remus whimpered "It hurts Sirius. It hurts"

"I know love, I know. I just need to leave for a moment"

Remus nodded, biting his lip and clenching his eyes closed. With a last glance at Remus' blistering skin, Sirius ran to the dining room. He threw Floo powder into the fireplace and yelled "Tonks. Get over here."

Within seconds Nymphadora Tonks had arrived in the fireplace

"What is it?"

"Remus touched silver. You need to take him to Poppy. She still doesn't know me. He can't go to St. Mungo's. He can't. Do you understand me?" Sirius said rapidly

Tonks nodded, but Sirius was already running back to the kitchen.

The werewolf was crying openly now as the blisters spread up his arm towards his shoulder. Sirius swept him up into his arms and whispered "You're going to be fine. I'll visit you when I can. You'll be fine love" as they walked

Tears still streaming down his face, Remus nodded again. Sirius kissed him swiftly and gave him to Tonks, who was already in the green fire. Tonks and Remus swirled away out of Headquarters.

**Reviews wanted and loved, apu. Thank you to those people who already have and thanks to Hattie my gorgeous angel beta for this chapter. Because she was too impatient to wait and she's able to poke me**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I never will. They belong to the über talented J.K.Rowling **

**A/N: I refuse to let flames work anymore, I've learnt my lesson. If you don't like slash or mPreg, don't read it. Please review, **_**constructive**_** criticism is appreciated and acted upon.**

1Remus woke with a hand running through his hair, ruffling it gently.

"Go away," he mumbled.

"Make me," challenged an amused voice.

"What?" Remus jerked up, only to be restrained by an invisible force.

"Take it easy, you'll hurt yourself even more." Sirius answered.

Leaning back, Remus looked around to find himself in the Hogwarts hospital wing, but no lover leaning over him. He groped in the air with his left hand and pulled the Invisibility Cloak off Sirius slightly.

"It's alright, Pomfrey's asleep." Sirius informed Remus in a low voice "How do you feel?"

"What do you think?" Remus asked, feeling slightly peeved, "I have silver burns all the way up my arm and across, what, a third of my chest?"

Sirius pulled the Cloak back on "Keep your voice down, love." He brushed his invisible hand against Remus' cheek. "So how do you feel?"

"Painful, hungry."

"Which reminds me, I bring chocolate." Sirius added. There was a rustling noise and a hand emerged from the cloak, holding a Honeyduke's bag

Remus snatched it with a grin, a flash of white in the darkness "Ta muchly." he said with a chocolate muffled voice.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"Nuh uh"

Sirius smiled at the single-mindedness of his lover when presented with chocolate. "What did Pomfrey say?"

"Take this, drink that, stay still. What else?"

Swatting at Remus through the cloak, Sirius said "You're impossible, do you know that? I have to go now, sorry my dear, but I'm late for the Order meeting."

"I'll be here, waiting, eating, sleeping."

"Lazy sod." Sirius muttered.

The fire burst into flame and Remus knew that Sirius was gone.

ooOoo

Alastor Moody was in his study when Sirius flooed in.

"How's your lad?" Mad-eye growled quietly, continuing to write, his quill scratching on the parchment.

"Remus will be fine," replied Sirius, "Look, Mad-eye, can I..."

"Yes, take it. Kingsley has a spare."

Sirius nodded tersely and flooed away

ooOoo

An owl flapped into Sirius' bedroom. Looking up the Animagus darted to the bird and snatched the letter away. It was from his godson.

Dear Snuffles, (it said)

Moony is in the hospital Wing. Did you know? He's in a private room. We saw him on the thing that you and the marauders created that the squib confiscated. I know you are good friends. I can take a message if this gets through - the toad is on the rampage.

Love,

Prongs, Jr.

When he had finished reading, Sirius had a grin on his face. Harry had been careful not to mention Remus or any incriminating objects. Not only that, but he had used a random owl, not Hedwig. He was learning fast.

So Harry knew about Remus. Sirius thought it was time to tell him everything about Remus.

Dear Prongs, Jr.,

Your father would be proud of your nickname, I'm sure. Don't worry, I know about Moony - How could I not know what's going on with my soul mate? I've seen him too, but thank you.

Be careful with the toad, she'll blow if she learns about Moony.

Love,

Snuffles.

Sirius re-read the letter, satisfied that he had measured every word carefully, and then sent the message back with the owl.

ooOoo

The door opened with an angry bang, and Harry strode in looking thunderous. Hermione and Ron followed more timidly. Clutching his stomach instinctively as he sat up in bed, Remus smiled.

"Nice to see you again, Harry." He said.

Harry brandished the letter in his hand furiously, "Read this, read it!"

One hand still resting surreptitiously on his stomach, Remus took the letter from Harry's hand. A minute later he lowered it, and smiled once more.

"You understand it?" Remus asked.

"Soul mate? Soul mate?? Is this some sort of stupid joke?" demanded Harry.

Remus' smile looked more set as he replied, "No joke. We've loved each other for years. This is no joke, Harry."

"Professor Lupin," Harry said, trying to steady his voice, "This is just a joke. This can't be from Sirius."

"Of course it can." Sirius pulled the cloak off.

Hermione gasped and Ron goggled until he resembled a pale frog.

"But how? How is that even..." Harry gaped.

"Shut up, Harry," Hermione said, walking forwards, "Madam Pomfrey might come in."

Sirius sat down on the creaking bed and kissed Remus hard. "See?"

Harry stuttered for a moment, then turned on his heel, closely followed by Ron. Turning by the door, Hermione said, "Don't worry. He'll come round. He just a bit..." She shrugged.

"Go on," Sirius said, smiling wearily, "He won't wait."

"Get well soon, Professor Lupin." Hermione added as she left.

The couple relaxed slightly.

"Well, that could have gone better." Sirius said as lightly as he could manage.

"Damn it," Remus said, looking angry, "You didn't have to tell him."

"Of course I did. He'd find out anyway once the kids are born."

"You never thought about how weird a kid finds his father's two best friends dating? His teacher and his godfather being lovers? Of course he's going to take it badly. Everything in his life has been messed up, and now he's confused about this. It doesn't fit with his picture of us."

"Re, he had..."

Sirius was cut off by a swift motion from Remus.

"Pomfrey. Hide." he whispered.

At once the cloak was back on, but the slight pressure that was Sirius' hand on Remus' shoulder remained.

Madam Pomfrey bustled in, businesslike but strangely tense. "So, Mr. Lupin. I am going to leave you in here for thirty minutes with his potion. Your children will be aborted if you swallow it. I will be back in half an hour."

Sirius' hand tightened painfully on Remus' shoulder, but the werewolf nodded to the nurse.

His face was grim as he said, "Thank you. And... if it's not too much trouble to ask... How many children would I have had?"

The nurse dabbed at her eyes. "I'm not sure. I checked, but I don't often deal with pregnancies, let alone male ones. If I had to estimate, I would say quads, Mr. Lupin."

Remus felt Sirius sink, shaking, to the floor as the nurse left.

"What are you doing, Remus?" he whispered hoarsely.

"Saving our children from a terrible fate."

"Re, we can look after them!"

"I know. And as their father, I am doing just that."

Smirking, he poured the potion down the sink as Sirius muttered "Merlin. I love you, she can't report you if she thinks..."

That I aborted." Remus said smugly.

"I could kiss you." Sirius said, taking off the cloak.

"Please do."

So he did

ooOoo

Sirius woke, once again, to the sound of retching from his and Remus' en suite bathroom.

Quietly, he got out of his bed and padded to the bathroom to find Remus pale, sick and shaking on the floor.

"Again love?"

"It's not called morning sickness for nothing." Remus replied crossly, only to turn back to the toilet.

Kneeling down, Sirius waiting patiently until the retching stopped before passing Remus a goblet of water. As Remus sipped, Sirius pulled the werewolf towards him.

Remus leaned back, then hissed, jerking forwards and spilling his water in the process.

"Oops, sorry." Sirius said, leaning back to open the cupboard on the floor. He extracted the balm from the shelf and moved back to Remus. "It's been two weeks since the accident. It's looking better already."

"Yeah, but I've thrown up every day since."

"I'm trying to help. Now sit still."

Remus' shoulder, arm and back were still red and raw from the silver burns, but he relaxed as Sirius' agile hands smoothed on the balm.

"Feeling better?" Sirius asked once he'd finished.

Smiling contently, Remus nodded and sighed.

"You're getting fat." taunted Sirius.

"Yes, thank you very much, oh lover of mine. You try being pregnant."

"No thanks. Look, Re, we do have to tell the Order, because they're going to notice."

Shaking his head, Remus said "Too much of a risk. Especially with Snape in the Order. And there could always be another spy. We need to do everything possible to protect our children, so we can't risk telling everyone."

"It's up to you."

"I know." the werewolf stood and brushed his teeth.

"What are you doing today then?" Sirius asked when Remus had finished.

Remus turned. "House hunting. I can't live here if we're keeping quiet about the kids."

"Do you have a place in mind?" Sirius asked, feeling slightly forlorn.

Hearing the disappointment in Sirius voice, Remus brushed his lips against his cheek and said "Somewhere in the country, big garden for them and their gorgeous father to play in, a basement for me. I have money from selling my flat. I can get a job to make the rest. It shouldn't be that difficult."

Sirius slung an arm around Remus' waist and whispered, "Don't be ridiculous." as they pulled close. "My fortune's sitting and gathering dust. We'll use that. And I'm going to live with you Remus, whether Dumbledore likes it or not. I hate this house and I'll only be too happy to leave."

He received a nod in return as Remus left the bathroom to dress.

ooOoo

As they were eating breakfast with Molly and Arthur - Remus looking nauseous at the smell of Arthur's coffee - an owl flew in through the window straight to the werewolf.

The script on the front looked neat and professional. With fear in his heart, Remus motioned to Sirius silently and they left the room. In the hallway, Remus opened it slowly. Suddenly he gave a short burst of relieved laughter, then sobered as he read the rest of the letter.

Dear Professor L.,

It is Hermione. I am sending this out of school, so it should not be taken. I wish I could have written sooner but I have not been able to get to Hogsmede.

Harry needs to speak to you or Snuffles, or he is going to go insane. He is confused and when you just left the Hospital Wing, he got angry. He thinks everyone is abandoning him. I think you should speak to him, I really do, or I think he will do something reckless and stupid. He is sorry for over-reacting. I think it was just shock.

Please write to him,

Hermione

P.s I don't mean to intrude but Professor Snape should have started making Wolfsbane last night at the new moon, but I don't think he has because there's no change in the fennel, burdock, or valerian root levels in the store. There's also no smell coming form his office which makes me wonder. I know he's argued with Padfoot and Harry recently, but if he's not brewing it I'll find some way to help.

"No way." Sirius said once he had finished reading it "There is something going on that we don't know about. She's hinting at some thing we don't know."

"You argued with Severus at Christmas, she knows that. Could it be about that?"

Sirius snorted. "He keeps his grudges for long enough. But why would he target you? Why would he stop making the potion? He doesn't know about your condition, does he?"

"He may well," Remus said as realization hit "He's teaching Harry Occlumency, isn't he? So maybe he saw the Hospital visit while in Harry's mind."

"Possible. He's always trying to hurt me in some way."

Slowly, Remus nodded "It could be just spite, of course. Unless he knows about the pregnancy, so he can't be bothered to make the potion. I wouldn't put it past him, but he was always rather thorough, you'd have thought we would have continued anyway."

"So what do we do about Harry?"

"We can do this cleverly." Remus said smiling, "Both of these things are connected if we want them to be. We need to talk to Harry, Hermione needs to think I need the Wolfsbane. If Hermione can Floo over here with the Potion, we can talk to her about Harry. Dumbledore could set up a way."

"Even with Umbridge sticking her nose in everywhere it doesn't fit?"

"I thought the Marauder Master could do anything." taunted Remus.

"In that case, I'm sure we'll do just fine."

"Yeah, 'cos everything else around here is going fine. An unplanned multiple pregnancy in the middle of a wizarding war. Joy of joys."

Sirius kissed Remus tenderly. "Yes, they are our joy of joys, Re. Life brand new! So we can be happy."

"Let's get this sorted then."

Dear Hermione,

Thank you for your concern. I don't know why Severus has stopped brewing for me, but we suspect that he knows about Sirius and me. I will not speak to Dumbledore about this because he has enough on his plate, I think you'll agree. If you are willing to brew Wolfsbane for me, I would be grateful. I have great faith in you.

If you need any extra ingredients, I have access to them all, do not be tempted to steal from Severus' store.

Thank you again, especially for appealing to Harry on our behalf.

R+S

Dear Headmaster,

We think it would be wise to stop the Gryffindor Common Room fire from being watched. In the case of an emergency Harry should be able to leave in an instant and not be worried about being traced back to London.

If you were to arrange a cover, it should be perfect.

Fire purifies,

The Two Marauders

P lacing a quick kiss on Sirius' cheek, Remus said "right, that's sorted and I'm gone"

"Come back windswept and interesting"

"You see me every full moon. How much more ruffled and "interesting" can I get?" Remus called as he closed the door

**A/N: Yay, up to six reviews! New chapter already written and on its way when my beta comes back from her hols. Or I get someone else to do it**

**Has anyone watched the film Order of the Phoenix? Remus' face when Sirius died! It made me cry! We went to see it at Leicester Square, so good. Sirius' death was rubbish though. Sorry**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I never will. They belong to the über talented J.K.Rowling **

**A/N: I refuse to let flames work anymore, I've learnt my lesson. If you don't like slash or mPreg, don't read it. Please review, **_**constructive**_** criticism is appreciated and acted upon**

That evening the couple were entwined on the sofa, basking in the warmth of each other, when a burst of light startled them apart

"Professor!" Remus exclaimed, straightening his ruffled clothes, "What brings you here?"

Dumbledore's eyes were blazing as he said "Harry"

Groaning, Sirius sunk into the back of the sofa, asking "What's he done now?"

"Mr Potter has been caught being part of an illegal organisation teaching defence to students. Dumbledore's Army"

"So why are you...?"

"You took the fall" Remus gasped

The Headmaster nodded, "By dawn Dolores Umbrige will be the Headmistress of Hogwarts, I will be wanted by the Ministry, and Lord Voldemort will be winning this hidden battle we are fighting. His Ministry spies will be leading Cornelius on to ensure that I am publicised as a madman even more than I was before," Sirius was shaking his head, "My hopes now lie in two Order Members: Minerva and Severus. Only they can protect Harry now"

"He's doomed," moaned Sirius into his hands

Sternly, Dumbledore said "Have some faith. He won't leave Hogwarts without us being alerted. Dolores trusts Severus and I trust him"

"Great"

Dumbledore ignored Sirius' sarcasm and said "Now that I am no longer at Hogwarts I can actively work against Lord Voldemort. The Ministry will regret this. But for now I need to speak to Arthur, is he here?"

"Kitchen," Sirius said dully

Remus sat down next to his lover and put a hand on his hunched shoulder

"Don't even bother trying to tell me to calm down Remus. Severus Snape is in charge of my godson. I have no reason to be calm"

"Yes you do," replied the werewolf, "You do because if you crack up I'm left on my own, and I can't handle that right now. And Minerva will look after Harry just fine too. Nothing's going to happen to him when he's safe and at school"

The guilt trip worked, and Sirius said, "Merlin Re, what am I going to do?"

"You are going to lift your chin up and help me look through the house pictures we abandoned"

Sirius looked up at the ceiling at the werewolf, "Stiff upper lip?"

"Hell yes," Remus' eyes were sparkling as pulled Sirius over to the sofa. He described each one he liked and eventually they agreed to go back and look at two.

They were clearing up to go to bed when Dumbledore came back

"What's all this?" he asked indicating the photos

Remus gulped and moved backwards into a chair as Sirius stepped forwards stubbornly to say, "Remus was looking for a house for the two of us to live in. We can't have a private life in the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. I'll be hidden same as before so we decided to risk buying our own home."

Eyes flashing dangerously, Dumbledore said "You can't do that. I cannot organise protection for you if you aren't living here. You're a wanted criminal"

"I don't need your protection"

"You're needed here"

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Just like everyone else?"

"And if you go, and I need you. What then?"

"You'll contact me like you would any other Order Member. I refuse to be kept behind bars for any longer"

"Very well. You must do as you wish, but if you are caught I can only do so much for you"

The Animagus pulled Remus out of his chair using slightly more force than he meant to, "Come on Re," he muttered

"Calm down love," there was a growl in Remus' voice, "We have nowhere to go right now. Just go to our room and I'll be up in a minute. Before you do something you end up regretting," Remus whispered as he pushed Sirius out of the room. Then he turned to the solemn Professor, "Sir, he's just worried about Harry, he didn't mean to be rude. He's just under a lot of pressure"

"Aren't we all?"

"You don't know the half of it. But that's not what I wanted to say. Professor, we sent you a letter this morning. Did it reach you?"

"No Remus. What was it…"

The werewolf cut him off, "OK, never mind then. And out of interest, has Professor Snape spoken to you recently?"

"No. He's had no cause to," replied Dumbledore, frowning, "Remus, what is…"

But Remus had already left

ooOoo

"Why did you send me out like that?"

"You were already leaving"

"You could have backed me up"

"You could be quiet and let me sleep"

"Can't we move out?"

"Where do you propose we go?"

"We could…"

"Sirius, five of us want to sleep. Now shut up or you're going outside to sleep in a kennel"

"Goodnight my baby"

From outside, Dumbledore could have sworn Sirius said "Goodnight my babies"

ooOoo

A week later the couple had good news: Remus had put an offer in on a house they both liked and it had been accepted. The owner of the large house had passed away a few months previously and the family were eager to get rid of the house. "Too many memories," they had said. With no chain on either side and an inhabited house already furnished, Sirius and Remus planned to move in the very next day. The other family were pleased that the move was going so quickly and so well.

Remus and Sirius were curled up together in their bedroom, pouring over a Magical Mother catalogue, when Dumbledore knocked at the door

Straight to the point he asked, "Have you reconsidered?"

"Yes," Sirius replied as Remus choked on his tea, "Yes we won't have to burden you with our company after today because we'll be living in the country"

"Why so far out of the way?" Dumbledore asked, "Surely to be more involved in Order Business you'd prefer to live near here"

"As you put it, I'm a wanted criminal. We just want to live in peace"

"We can't get that here," Remus interjected, as Dumbledore started to speak, "We'll still do our duty; we'll still be on call…"

"No you won't," interrupted Sirius

"Shut it Siri. We just need our own privacy. Especially as the door to the basement failed last transformation - did I tell you? I couldn't endanger anyone Professor. I don't want to risk it. I really don't"

Remus' tone was pleading and Dumbledore saw reason. His blue eyes crinkled into a smile, "Of course.If you'd explained this to me earlier I would have understood"

"Sorry Professsor. It's always an awkward subject, you know..." his voice trailed off delicatly

"Very well," Professor Dumbledore said as he left, his turqouise robes swinging behind him

Shutting the door behind the ex-Headmaster, Remus quickly threw up silencing charms

Sirius let out a low whistle, "I am in the presence of a genius"

"I'll remind you of that some day," snorted Remus in reply

Turning back to the Magical Mother catalogue, as if nothing had happened, Sirius said, "So what do you think about yellow? I mean it's completly nuteral right? We could paint little ducks on. Or caramel with cream and these teddy bears"

"Don't you think cream is completly inpractical? And the shades of brown are a little boring?"

"Yellow?" persisted Sirius

"We're going to paint all of the rooms yellow? Could you get and more confusing?" Remus argued, then added, "Why can't we just leave the wallpaper that's up there and decorate the bedrooms when they're born?"

"Because we're going to have to buy some stuff before they're born," Sirius' tone screamed 'dur' despite the fact he didn't say it

"Ok. So we'll buy clothes, assumng that at least one is going to be a boy and at least one is going to be a girl. Or buy unisex clothing, nappies, bottles, formula, black buggies, black car seats, multi-coloured toys, books. All you really need colour for is the walls and carpets. We can buy everything we need before hand anyway"

"And blankets," Sirius added, laughing at Remus' irritated face

The werewolf hit him with a pillow, "Idiot. We'll get to bedrooms when get to that point ok?"

"On a different note, we need a house elf that's not Kreacher," pointed out Srius

"House elf agency?" it was the only place to get a house-elf if you were not inheriting one

Sirius smiled, "Yup, shall we go now?"

"I might as well. Do they allow dogs there?"

"If I'm good"

"Come on then Snuffles, time for walkies"

The animagus growled at him

They walked downstairs and poked their heads into the kitchen. Molly and Arthur were sitting there looking serious and tired.

"We're just off out," Remus said in a purposefully-casual voice, "Can we get you anything?"

"Thank you dear but no," Molly said

"See you then"

"Remus," Arthur said, turning his worn face upwards, "I hope when you said 'we' you mant me, myself and I"

"Er no," he replied, colour rising to his cheeks "Sirius, Snuffles even, is coming with me. Bye then"

"Remus..." there were protests from behind the door, but the couple left the house hurridly

ooOoo

"Just fill in this form please sir," squeaked the tiny houself, who had black hair protuding from his nostrils, passing a clipboard to Remus.

Five minutes were spent filling in his name, date of birth, address, lycan race, his pets and what he wanted particularly from a houself

"This way then sir. Bring your dog"

They entered a plain, neat room with tidy bunks, each occupied by a single elf. The elves' eyes were fixed on Remus and Sirius. Several hid when they saw the dog.

"Bibby, Dolly, Penny and Whippy, here please" the elf leading them instructed

Four house-elves scampered over. They lined up inthe order they had been called

"Bibby is an excellent cook and cleaner, and is very organised" he indicated the tallest, thinnest and most sullen looking elf. It bowed at the end of the sentence, and the robe it was wearing shifted slightly to show a scar in the shape of a G - a family brand no doubt.

"Dolly worked in a home with four children of various ages, before their house burnt down," the oldest house-elf smiled nervously. She was complelty bald, except for three intruiging hairs on the tips of each of her ears, which were smaller than most house-elves'. Her bulbous eyes were a vivid pink that was slightly disturbing.

The third house-elf was described as "sensible and calm, Penny is experianced in child births and child care, having worked in a maternity center until it closed, and then a house with triplets who have grown up." The elf was neatly dressed in a frilled pinafore, that was pressed and well cared for. She smiled as she bowed to Remus and Sirius.

"Whippy is a young house elf who shows good skills in culinary areas. He has been here since birth and trained by the Agency."

Remus considered them, taking in Bippy's grumpy visage, Dolly's age, Penny's experiance and Whippy's energy "What do you think Snuffles?"

Padding closer to smell each one, Sirius proceeded to sit between Penny and Whippy

"Both?" Remus raised an eyebrow "Very well. Penny, Whippy, would you consider working for me and any future family I may have?"

"Yes sir, we would be honoured," the two house-elves squeaked

"Thank you. In that case, Leddy, here are 160 galleons, 80 each"

He handed over the bag of galleons they had taken from Sirius' vault earlier that day

"Thank you Mr Lupin sir"

"Penny and Whippy, pack your things. I will be here tomorrow at four to bond us and take you to the new house"

ooOoo

Kingsley, Tonks, Mad-eye, the Weasleys, Sirius and Remus ate dinner together that night. Sirius couldn't help thinking 'this could be my last meal here', where as his werewolf lover was concentrating only on his dinner. The suculent chops that Molly had provided were disappearing one by one from Remus' plate, to raised eyebrows from the rest of the assembled company.

Unlike most of the meals they shared in Grimmauld Place, this one was tense and silent with the memory of rule breaking from the afternoon.

Molly broke the silence and said "I'm glad you're eating again properly dear. You've put on weight and you're glowing with health at last. Were you ill?"

"Er... yes Molly I was" Remus was aware of Sirius' hand squeezing reassuringly on his knee "Brought on by all these things going on. That only a select few are aware of."

Tonks frowned as she watched Remus smile to Sirius with some hidden meaning, "And I expect your silver burn didn't help"

"Oh yes," he bit his lp "Yes, weakened my immune system and I got a stomach bug. What else can I say?"

Jaw clenching, Sirius kicked him under the table, suddenly angry "a stomach bug?"

"What... come on Siri" Remus replied, realising that Sirius thought he was still being cryptic, but the hand on his leg was removed

"A bug, an infection, an invasion of a body, a disease to spread and take over," Sirius' teeth gritted as he spoke

"You'd know all about invading of a body wouldn't you Sirius?" argued Remus, standing up.

"A stomach bug though?" Sirius joined him, his posture tense and his back rigid as he spoke

"Makes me ill enough doesn't it?"

"Is that what you really think?"

"You know that I..."

"I know that it won't be my bed you're sleeping in tonight if that's really what you think about them," Sirius' face was twisted in fury, "You were never happy with them"

"Yes I was, I was just scared and..."

"Pathetic. Maybe Harry was right. And besides, there's still time to get rid of your disease"

"You were the one that called them that" Remus yelled, but Sirius had already gone

Remus gave a scream of fury and stormed out of the room, leaving a morose company behind

"What was that?" Tonks asked shakily

"Lover's quarrell. Sirius has a hot temper, and Remus appears to be quite sensitive at the moment," Arthur replied "They'll have kissed, made up and shagged each other sensless by tomorrow"

"You mean they..." the colour drained out of Tonks' face

"For years. We don't like it, but with Charlie turning out the way he is, we've learned to accept it..."

"Charlie's gay too?"

"Yup, but he's our son. You have to accept family. After Percy..." Molly gave Arthur a pained look

"But I mean..." Tonk's stuttered, "Remus?"

"Sorry my dear, but it would seem so."

ooOoo

Two hours later, having cooled off in his room, Sirius knocked on the door to the room that had originally been Remus'. There was no reply. Hesitantly, he stepped in to find Remus asleep in a chair holding the latest note from Hermione. Sirius took it carefully

_Dear Professor Lupin_

_Crookshanks took this to the post office for me. Snuffles has obviously taught him a few tricks. On Friday I will go to the R.O.R and get to your house. Don't worry about me being discovered, I'm perfectly safe_

_Hermione_

So Remus had it all mapped out well. Sirius had to admit that it was a good plan. He sat down quietly next to the werewolf on the arm of his chair to watch him sleep. His face was pale and still, with a tear track down one cheek. His prematurly greying hair had fallen into his eyes from where it was normally swept back. There were too many lines on his forehead and too deep a crease between his eyebrows for Srius to be happy with. He wanted to kiss those lines, and the cares that caused them, away. Sighing, he stood and walked towards the door

"Don't go," Remus' voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," murmered Sirius

Remus opened his alert, amber eyes, "Come here, please?"

Unable to resist the husky pleading, Sirius approached the armchair

"I'm..."

"No," Sirius interrupted "Let me. I'm sorry. I got angry because it was tense at the table, after going out this morning against orders. And then I took it out on you. Which I shouldn't have because I love you and you are pregnant with my children. You are hormonal and its nearing full moon, so the wolf's rearing its head despite your pregnancy. And for all those reasons I am sorry,"

"And I am sorry too. They are in no way a curse, I'm just so bloody sensitive at the moment," it was the truth and Sirius saw it in Remus' eyes

"Forgive me?"

"Always. Forgive me?"

"It's forgotten"

Without realising it, the two were in each other's arms and kissing as if their lives depended on it. Soon they were stripped to their underwear and planting their kisses on various parts of their partners body.

"I love you more than anything in this world," murmered Sirius as he kissed Remus' stomach. It was a tradition that everytime they made love, they promised their hearts

"I would die if you left me"

"No you wouldn't," Sirius said abruptly, moving up to kiss Remus' nose "You would live, love, because you could not leave our children without both their fathers."

"Yet you would leave them with one?" Remus teased, tracing Sirius' tattoo of a wolf on his back

"Never"

ooOoo

That was the night Sirius Black died

**A/N: **Sorry, I've not been able to get to a computer whilst on holiday though I've been writing a story on notepads that has come into my head and i love writing but is vaguely plotless. I hope this is OK, my betas on holiday for ages and so I had to do it myself in the hope that I haven't missed anything. Oh my other computer broke so I'm stuck with wordpad until my dad brings home ms office

On a different note thank you to all my reviewers, I love you and you keep me going. I hope this has more description etc, as I've been trying. Erm... 6 reviews for a chapter is my record so again my thanks. sorry Sampadoria - Sirius had to die. And Lauren I hope I didn't give too much away. Sorry if I did. MagicalWinry thank you for your insightfulness lol :D

Love you all, keep reviewing. The next chapter just needs typing


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I never will. They belong to the über talented J.K.Rowling **

**A/N: I refuse to let flames work anymore, I've learnt my lesson. If you don't like slash or mPreg, don't read it. Please review, **_**constructive**_** criticism is appreciated and acted upon.**

Hermione Granger flooed into a silent Grimmauld Place to find only Kreacher tied and gagged to a chair. The house elf squealed when he saw the girl, who rushed to untie him

"Are you ok?" she asked "Who did this to you?"

"Blood traitors, mudbloods, theives," Kreacher growled

Ignoring this, she persisted, "Where's Remus? He's supposed to be here"

"Second Master leaves note for mudblood," he indicated the piece of parchment on the table, frowning angrily as he tried to stop the words flowing from his mouth

She sighed and tied the house-elf back up again, "Thank you Kreacher, but sorry. You can't escape," Tentativly, she opened the letter, feeling the tingle of magic that was a sealing charm. Only she could open the letter. It was a hastily written note in Remus' hand, with only two words

Burdock Cottage

Immediatly, Hermione flooed to the new location. She stepped out into a dark, freezing cold living room. An animal-like whimpering reached her ears and, at once, she drew out her wand.

"Prof... Professor Lupin? Are you there?"

It was with great hesitance that she stepped forwards. She saw a pale figure, rocking back and forth on the sofa, clutching a pillow to his stomach

"Professor? Are you alright Professor? Professor Lupin?"

Remus was shaking as he looked up, with haunted golden eyes. He was frighteningly ashen, tears pouring down his face. His clothes were ripped as if he had shredded them in his grief. She switched a lamp on.

"Professor Lupin? Remus?" suddenly she gasped as the light glinted off a dark handled knife. Realising exactly what he was intending to do with the knife, she slid it away from him. "This wouldn't help Professor. Hurting yourself, killing yourself. It wouldn't help anything. Sirius wouldn't have wanted you to do this"

"Don't you dare," Remus growled furiously, "Don't you dare assume you know what he would have wanted. Don't you dare"

He took a gulp of amber liquid from a tumbler.

"Stop," It was a quiet command, but he lowered the glass. With ease now, Hermione slid the alcohol from his hand

"How can he have left me like this? I can't look after... I'm not even allowed to look after... he said that he would..."

"Alright Remus, it's going to be OK," Hermione soothed. She caught sight of a cream baby blanket decorated with teddy bears on top of a pile. Pulling it over, she wrapped it around Remus' shoulders and rubbed them gently, "It's going to be fine"

"How can you say that? You have no idea." Remus buried his face in the blanket, "It's so cold... and numb. He was right there and then he was gone. And we'd argued and, oh merlin... I don't know what to do, because I couldn't go and... I'd have run after him, but I didn't. I can't let them down, becuase I promised them." Tears accompanied this outpour of emotion from the distraught werewolf

"He loved you. He would have wanted you to keep going," Hermione's heart was bleeding for the broken, miserable man driven by agonizing loss to the point of suicide. She was at a loss for words, unable to understand half of what Remus was saying.

Remus just shook his head hopelessly. Presently, he took his face out of the blanket and blinked at it, "Why am I wearing this? What... how did you... crap! Merlin, why am I...? He ordered this," he threw the blanket off, "I can't, I just can't"

Hermione swore inwardly then said "Sorry"

"Not it's not your fault," they sat in silence, until Remus hoarsley said "I just want to hold him one more time. To tell him I love him and to say... goodbye"

"I know, I understand," she paused for a moment, then said "Can I do anything to help sir? And maybe you should drink your Wolfsbane?"

Nodding blindly, Remus swallowed the offered potion and grimaced

"Disgusting as always," he murmered. "but thank you"

"Do you want me to go?"

Remus' eyes flashed "No!" he realsied that he had shouted, and said "Please don't. I... don't go yet"

Smiling sympathetically, Hermione stood and pulled open the curtains, letting the summer light flood into the room. At once, she realised that the room had no personal ornamentation at all, and the only things that looked homely were in the pile from which she had extracted the blanket. It was surrounded by several boxes.

"Remus," she questioned slowly, "have you just moved in?"

"I couldn't stay at Headquarters forever could I?" It seemed to be easier to answer the questions that break the silence himself

"Were you going to move in with Si... your lover?"

"Yes, but he never came here," he fought to control his voice

"But that's good isn't it? No memories, no ghosts"

He cried out, "don't you understand? Memories are all I have left of him. If I can't live with him anymore, if he's gone, then all I have are memories"

Hermione bit her lip, knowing she'd said the wrong thing. She tried again, "Remus I'm so sorry, really I am. But you can't waste away like this. People need you to keep fighting"

The werewolf pulled his pillow closer "I just miss him: the way he used to hold me; his nicknames; the stubble on his chin; his hands running through my hair; the tattoo of a wolf on his back"

"You're never going to forget those things Remus"

"It's so..."

"Empty," supplied Hermione when he faltered

He nodded, and wiped his eyes on his tattered sleeve

"I'll be back in a minute," Hermione promised, walking quickly to the door. This led to a bare corridor with three doors and a staircase. The first door she tried led to another, parallel hallway, but the second led to a kitchen and went on to a dining room. The kitchen had clinically clean walls, and geometric cupboards enhanced this image. She opened one, to find it empty. She opened another and another, to finally extract a single, chipped, china mug. After a few moments struggling with a stubborn tap, Hermione returned to Remus with a mug of water

"Drink this"

He swallowed it slowly, as if trying to waste time and think of what to say next. "Thanks" was all he could come up with

They sat together for about a half an hour before Remus said, "Maybe you should go back to school"

"You'll be ok"

Unsure of whether or not this was a question or a statement, he just replied with a half-smile and said, "I have to don't I?"

"See you in a month Professor"

"Hermione wait," he dug a letter out of his pocket, "We wrote this together. Give it to Harry. It's slightly pointless now, but maybe it will explain things to him

She inclined her head in assent

"And Hermione. Thank you"

ooOoo

_Dear Harry,_

_It's hard to sit down and write this, because we don't really know what to say. You know that we love each other, and that makes it difficult. Becuase our love is simple and sweet, but beyond words. After so many years together, we are still as much in love as nearly two decades ago. We know that a lot of people don't like homosexuals, but to us that's just a name, a label. To us, love is universal. We hope that one day you will see that too. We understand if you disown us, argue with us, refuse to see or speak to us again. We've had that reaction before. But we hope you won't because you mean a lot to both of us, and it's not just because of your father. _

_We will certainly never forget the day we told James about us. At first he just stared and we had no idea what he was going to do. Then he clapped his hands together and his face lit in the hugest smile, that was James through and through. He said that we were the perfect couple, and that he was over the moon for us, excusing the pun, so long as we restrained ourselves when he was in the dormitory. Your mother just squealed when she found out, then hugged us and told us that she hoped we'd be happy forever._

_And so far we have been, except when Sirius (me) was in Azkaban. Those were the worst years of our lives - but we carried on because life doesn't stop. We got together afterwards, and life has never been so full. We thought you should know that,_

_Love,_

_Remus and Sirius_

Smoke rose from the fire, giving off an acrid smell of burning ink. Harry Potter closed his eyes and walked away

ooOoo

For six months, no one saw Remus Lupin. He refused to attend Order meetings, Hermione was always seen to by a house-elf when she came with Wolfsbane. Even the post man always left his packages on the doorstep when no one answered the door, knowing that Remus would claim them when no one was about. In the village further down the hill, he was regarded as an eccentric loner, who had only been seen once, when he purchased a variety of food and then disappeared. If the lights were not switched on and off in the curious house and the parcels were not borught inside by a small hand each morning, no one would believe someone lived there.

Harry had maintained a constant silence until Remus stopped giving messages to Hermione. The young wizard did not want to talk about sirius and Remus did not either. So they ceased their one sided correspondance.

The werewolf was cared for by his two house-elves, whom he had picked up precisely on time the day after Sirius' death, though he arrived puffy-eyed and sombre. Hermione's arrival had spurned Remus to act: he had unpacked his belongings, gone into the village for food, fitted silver locks on the inside of the basement door for after the arrival of his children, and then gone to the house-elf agency. After the burst of fitful energy, he had realised that he was trying to avoid thinking about his lover, and had then collapsed into the bed in the master bedroom sobbing. He only cried harder when Penny decided to bring him a mug of hot chocolate that Whippy had created for him, complete with tiny marshmallows.

After a period of hopelessness and grief, Remus started to decorate the house. He transfigured furniture, multiplied cutlery, added muggle and wizarding apliances he recieved from owl order and muggle post, and most importabtly he decorated the babies' rooms.

Remembering Sirius' wish, he decorated one room duck yellow, one cream with a caramel carpet. Then he chose one of the other two to be purple with silver stars that hung a foot from the cieling and the last to be a light green, with rabbits hopping along the walls. He knew from a casual conversation with Molly that if one baby were to cry it would set the others off, so they shold be seperated at least until they slept through the night. The house-elves were well mannered and kept busy, though they revelled in the pantry-turned-cupboard Remus had made for them. The living room had been transformed from a colllection of foot stools and sofas into a calm room of elegant, swede furniture, and a muggle television center. He had also made the kitchen into a sleek place, easy for the house-elves or himself to work in. Whippy in particular propsered in front of the oven.

Everything had rounded edges and corners, and he had safety-gated the kitchen, the top of the stairs and the bottom of the stairs. The basement door he coated in silver, though he ran through many gloves doing so - he could not wear them twice just in case - but no child would be at risk when he transformed.

In short, his confiment, hiding from the Ministry and frowning society was actually vaguely pleasant. The only factor that marred his contentment was the death of his long term lover, that his mind could not help but dwell on. Everytime he wasn't busy, he would have to fight away tears. After three months of mourning, this slowed, but small things could set him off again. It had been the same when Sirius had been taken into Azkaban. Only Albus Dumbledore's careful goading managed to bring him out of his shell then, with promise of work in a lycanthrophy center where he would be helping other werewolves to settle into society after Voldemort's first reign.

But Dumbledore was busy and Remus did not want to see him, so carried on alone - determined to have the children Sirius had wanted and he, Remus had grown to love.


	6. Chapter 6

**ANNOUNCMENT: THE FIRST CHAPTER OF FINDING THE LINE (THE SEQUEL) IS UP**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I never will. They belong to the über talented J.K.Rowling **

**A/N: I refuse to let flames work anymore, I've learnt my lesson. If you don't like slash or mPreg, don't read it. Please review, _constructive_ criticism is appreciated and acted upon. **

As December drew in, bitterly cold, Hermione stayed at Hogwarts so she had access to her cauldron. She realised that she was attracting funny looks from the other residents, and not only the students, because she was not with Harry or Ron. Professor Snape, she noticed, was giving her the oddest looks since her request for comfrey leaves. Shaking her head to get rid of the distracting thoughts, she stepped into the fire in the Room of Requirement and shouted "Burdock Cottage". She began to spin furiously in the whirlpool of chimneys and fireplaces. She desperately hoped that the Wolfsbane would not spill. It was always a nerve-racking journey and the charm keeping the thick liquid in place had failed twice before.

Thankfully, she slowed down with no mistakes and stepped out into Remus' living room, only to find it deserted. There was no house-elf or werewolf to greet her, though the latter was hardly surprising. It was with extreme caution that she searched the other rooms downstairs, but could not find anyone. Then a moan from an upstairs room reached her ears.

"Remus?" she whispered as loud as she dared. She could not help feeling that there was something wrong, and as she got no reply she crept up the stairs as quietly as she could, fighting fear.

The groan came again and Hermione was sure this time that it was defiantly an expression of pain. She reached the door to the room she had heard the sound from and pushed it open a crack.

Remus' back faced her. He was sitting on a widened chair with two house-elves around him. One was stoking the fire and one was patting Remus' hand in a motherly fashion.

Hermione took the risk and moved forwards to the pained man, who had a thin blanket resting on his shoulders. "Remus, I brought your Wolfsbane." She said loudly.

The effect was immediate; the elves both squeaked their shock and Remus jolted to his feet, only to topple to the floor ungainly.

"Remus!"

"Master! Master!"

His blanket fell away to reveal a swollen stomach many times its normal size. The werewolf's face was pale and drawn; his hair was drenched in sweat. His amber eyes were dark with pain. Hermione helped him to his feet and he sat wearily onto what Hermione now recognised as a birthing stool.

"You... you're pregnant! You... you're in… in labour!" Hermione didn't know what to say. She knew that Remus wasn't allowed to have children and would be persecuted if anyone found out, "Oh my god."

With both fear and pain vying for his attention, Remus just watched, waiting.

"But then you never needed your Wolfsbane…"

"Correct, but we had to keep some cover, and we needed contact with Harry." Confessed Remus plainly. He closed his eyes as he spoke.

"But…"

"This is…" Remus' words were cut short as another contraction ripped through him. He cried out again and hunched in on himself. Gently, Hermione slipped her hand into his and knelt down by his side. She rubbed his tense back through his blanket and started murmuring to him.

"It's alright, it's ok. You'll be fine." Her voice gave no hint that her hand was being crushed, though it felt like every bone was being broken. She knew it was nothing compared with the agony the man was going through.

Soon the pain stopped, and Remus lifted his head, panting heavily, "You need to go back to school," he gasped out, "If you were caught here…"

"I'm not going to leave you like this. I was at my aunts when she had her twins last summer. You're not going to be left alone. Now tell me, who else knows?"

She said this all very fast, but Remus felt relieved. Then he answered, "No one… unless… well Severus might know"

"Severus?" there was obvious shock in her voice, "As in Severus Snape, Professor Snape,"

"Yes, the very same"

"OK," said Hermione, standing up and taking charge, "You can't stay there forever and I think we should find him. Get him to come here. If he knows, he can help."

Remus looked hesitant, "He thinks I'm a beast. He gave up on my potion. He doesn't think I'm worth it." As he spoke, he realised he wanted other people around him to help. He felt completely alone, but Hermione's presence made him relax, maybe Severus would help that, "But I guess..."

"Right then… erm… ice-chips, to chew on, we need blankets… hot water… you should drink something too… and cool water with a sponge. Whippy, Penny would you do that please?"

They bowed and went out, "I'll be back with Professor Snape soon." Hermione promised.

Fifteen minutes later she fulfilled her vow and Severus Snape swooped in, in all of his bat-like glory.

"Granger, what is this all about?" He snarled, and then his eyes lit on Remus, "Lupin."

"Please, Professor, we need to help him," pleaded Hermione, "He's…"

"Pregnant, I realised." Snape sat down, "Only one werewolf would come to the castle and ask for an abortion potion without the Wolfsbane. I am not, contrary to popular belief, an idiot."

"You... you knew? Really knew?" Remus took a gulp of his tea as Snape answered.

"You would have asked for Wolfsbane from me if you weren't." Snape rolled his eyes as he talked, "So Black knocked you up? Clever of you."

"We didn't..." Remus started, but stopped, gasping as a spasm of pain struck him.

"He's in labour." Snape looked disgusted, "You brought me here to play nursemaid Granger? Please."

Hermione put a hand on his arm, stopping him from leaving, "Please Professor, no one else knows. You have to help. Look at him; can you really leave him like that?"

Snape glanced a the writhing man suffer, and back down at his pleading student, "Fine."

The contraction ended and Snape knelt down next to him, "How long have you been like this?"

"The canal formed at three. Contractions at four." Severus glanced at his watch. It was twelve, he motioned for Remus to continue, "I think I want to move the bed."

Snape looked like he wanted to die from the shame, but gave in. "Give me your arm, then. Granger, on the other side." They heaved him up and supported him over to the bed, where he collapsed onto it. A flicker of a strange emotion appeared on Snape's face as he questioned the werewolf about herbs in his house to make a potion to try and strengthen him.

Within an hour, the contractions came so close that Remus barely had time to draw breath between each one. With each spasm, his face screwed up and he bit down on ice to try and avoid crying out, but before long this became impossible. The pained groans because agonised yells as the uterus contracted.

Hermione sat on one side, dabbing at his forehead with a sponge, and Snape knelt on the other, helping him to sit up on demand and having his hand unwillingly crushed. Remus was drenched in perspiration, and after another hour he started to push as each wave of pain hit. Two hours later, literally trembling with exhaustion, Remus forced out the first head with a scream. Two minutes of straining and the shoulders passed too, and he collapsed back onto Severus, whom Hermione had forced to support him.

"Oh God, oh God," muttered Hermione as she lifted up the baby, "Remus, I'm so sorry"

"What, what is it?" Remus demanded, trying to sit up. Severus restrained him, knowing exactly what had happened. "Let me see him, her... him... Let me see!" But Hermione had turned way, "Let me see."

"Remus... she's... she's dead. I'm so sorry Remus." there were tears sparkling on her cheeks as she turned back. There was a limp, blue form in her arms and it wasn't breathing. The lack of crying had given it away to Severus, whose hands clenched Remus' shoulders.

"No!" the werewolf screamed, "Let me see her, let me see!" He flailed in Severus' grasp, "You're lying. Let go of me!"

His nails scratched across Snape's face, but he did not flinch. Then Remus doubled over in pain.

Snape was the one who talked as Remus worked through the contraction and Hermione severed the stillborn baby from her father. "You have to have the rest of your children Remus. There's at least three people's lives depending on you."

Neither Hermione or Remus had ever heard Snape speak Remus' first name, or heard him speak so tenderly. Hermione dared to think 'sweetly'.

In a voice choked with sobs and thick with pain, Remus said, "There's no point, they'll all be dead. They'll all be dead because I didn't want them in the beginning."

"Is that what you really think? Because you shouldn't." Snape said softly, "Do you want to believe that? Prove it Remus, prove it to us. Push."

And surprisingly, Remus listened and started to bear down, his fury at himself giving him strength. After a few minutes the next child was pushed out, but Remus turned his head and cried into Severus' robes. Severus hesitated for a moment, then patted him tentatively on the back.

"It's dead isn't it?" Remus stuttered.

A newborn's cry answered him, and his face lit up as he turned and saw Hermione holding a wailing child in her arms. She performed quick severing and cleaning charms and gave the little boy to Remus.

Remus looked ecstatic, and his golden eyes went round with amazement as he brushed the boy's hair away from the rumpled red face, "Thick and black," he murmered, "Severus Sirius Lupin."

Snape flushed, Hermione had to look again but he definitely had a slight tint of pink in his normally wan cheeks, "You shouldn't."

"I want..." but suddenly the werewolf cried out and tensed, curling up. Hermione snatched the baby away and passed him to Penny for proper care.

Soon there were not three more, but four live babies howling in Remus' bedroom: two girls and two boys. Winky had tactfully taken the first girl downstairs. Remus himself lay, completely exhausted, having delivered five children and the afterbirth, on his newly cleaned bed with baby Severus in his arms. The second-born was already fed, but his brother and sisters were in the arms of one being each. Winky, Penny and Hermione all fed a child and the gentle sucking and happy murmurings filled the room.

"I've decided on names for the others," Remus said hoarsely, "Romulus James - Romulus for my brother, Ebony Patricia - for 'Black' and my mother, Stella Hermione - Stella for the stars, a tradition in the Black Family. And for the first, Lily, just Lily," No one said anything as they watched a single tear escape from underneath his eyelids, roll down his cheek and fall onto the pillows on which he was propped up.

Silently, each baby dropped off to sleep, closing their eyes: two amber and two blue.

Snape, at Remus' request, eased Severus Jr. from Remus' arms with his long, pale hands/ He gazed at the rosebud pink mouth and let a small smile appear on his face before putting the baby into a Moses basket. Winky had brought them up. Penny then clicked her fingers and, on newly formed pieces of wood, the chosen names were carved on.

"A baby is all it took to break your demeanour then, Severus?" Remus asked wryly

"Yes, it would appear so," Snape kept his eyes on the now-occupied basket, "He reminds me of my brother" He said no more, but Remus knew from Lily that Snape's brother Joshua had died at Snape's own father's hand. Snape had been forced to watch his mother miscarry a sister at only nine whilst Tobias and Eileen were still married. The smile on Snape's face had fallen. Joshua had only been three when Tobias had been released from jail, gone to Eileen and Snape's step-father's house and killed is half-brother. Snape had been eleven when Joshua was born and fourteen when Tobias had been released from jail.

Remus tried to change the subject and move away from Snape's discomfort, "Thank you for your help. All of you. And Severus, Hermione, will you be godparents?"

"Of course!" Hermione squealed.

Seeing Snape hesitating, Remus said, "at least think about it." and received a curt nod in return. Remus could tell that he was embarrassed and said, "Thank you. Now will someone like to help me up?"

So, leaning heavily on Snape, Remus took the blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby from Winky and put her in the basket labelled 'Stella'. Winky's baby, the dark-haired, amber-eyed girl, was named Ebony. Then Remus reached out to pick up Romulus, but snatched back his hand as if he'd been stung, "He feels lycanthropic. Oh Merlin, he's caught my curse," He sagged in Snape's arms, but the Potion's Professor dragged him upright. The baby watched, half-asleep. His eyes were not the honey-amber of Ebony's, but bright, vivid gold.

"Lupe... Remus," Snape snapped, "This is anything but your fault. Look at me, Remus, not your fault. Lily wasn't your fault either and I know you're still blaming yourself for that. It's not your fault, there's nothing you can do."

Remus stammered, "But... the book..."

"You read _Anatomy of a Werewolf_, by Belby, didn't you? It's in Black's library and is miles out of date. That was the original. It's been revised seventeen times since then. If he's half-lycanthropic then he will transform with every moon, but he won't be allergic to silver or wolfsbane. It will be easier for him, and he'll barely feel the moon's pull. It won't hurt as much or for as long, either."

Still shaking his head, Remus closed his eyes and motioned for Hermione to put Romulus in the cradle

"Come on, back to bed Remus," said Snape. They walked with careful slowness until, abruptly, Remus slipped out of Severus' grip and onto the floor. He had fainted and a crimson stain was seeping through the flannel pyjamas he had put on.

Swearing, Snape went through every healing spell in his repertoire but he could not stop the flow of blood. Hermione just stared in horror

"We have to take him to St. Mungo's. He's haemorrhaging and I have no spells for that, he needs potions that I don't own. He'll die if we don't take him." Snape said, looking up, "Where's the Floo powder?"

They came out in the Creature Induced Injury section of the hospital. Hermione knew he had to be treated there as a lycanthrope. Snape came out behind her, stumbling under the werewolf's weight. Frantically, Hermione grabbed a Healer.

"Help him!" she growled furiously.

The Healer took one look at the heavily bleeding man and grabbed Remus from Snape's arms.

"He's lycanthropic, a werewolf. He just won't stop bleeding." Hermione explained as they trotted, or in Severus' case, swooped, down the hall. The careened into a room with sectioned beds.

Hurriedly, the Healer shouted names and more Healers surrounded him. The petrified Hermione was pushed out into the corridor to wait. Snape, who seemed to have been overlooked, slipped out to join her.

ooOoo

A frantic forty-five minutes later, Hermione was tapping her foot impatiently and Snape had gone to a get a strong coffee, and a Healer emerged to pronounce the werewolf's fate.

"It's stabilised. It will be fine," he said, sitting down next to Hermione, "but we need to ask you a few questions, Miss…"

"Granger." She wiped a tear from her eyes. They had been falling steadily since they had brought Remus in. She looked up at the Healer, who had a brutal face, dark eyes and a mouth set in a long, thin, line.

"Right Miss Granger. It was bleeding from a male uterus. It has given birth recently, has it not?"

"_He _has," Hermione said, putting extra emphasis on the word 'he'. She had known that werewolf prejudice was cruel, but not that they referred to lycanthropes as if they were thoughtless objects.

"Do you know that it is illegal for partnerless werewolves to have children?" the man was frowning angrily as he spoke, and Hermione felt slightly threatened, "We checked his registration number. 343287 is partnerless,"

At that, Hermione lifted her chin to look him directly in the eye, "I know no one by the name of 343287."

"You brought it into the hospital!" The Healer said incredibly.

"No," Hermione said, sounding braver than she felt, "I brought in a man, a brave, great, good man in here and I expect you to do your duty and to treat him as such. He is not an artifact to be labelled and catalogued!"

"Miss Granger, 343287…"

"Mr. Lupin. You will address him as Mr. Lupin or you will not call him anything at all."

The Healer frowned once more, "Miss Granger, answer me. The werewolf, how many children did it have?"

He did not notice the Snape behind him, but Hermione did not give her Potions Master away, only acknowledged his presence with a flicker of her eyes in his direction, "It doesn't matter," She said in a voice louder than strictly necessary, "You can't take dead children. Remus was going to give them up, anyway but they died."

Slowly, from around his neck, the Healer took out a golden chain, from which a small vial of potion hung. It was swirling and glowing red. Fear clenched at her and tied a knot in her stomach: it was a lie detecting potion. She had to think fast.

"Do you know what this is, Miss Granger? It can tell if you are lying. And you are, Miss Granger. Now tell me the truth, how many children did 343287 have?"

"I already told you, I know no one by the name of 343287." There was a strong tone of defiance in her voice and her mind was racing.

The potion stayed clear.

"Fine," harsh lines etched themselves into the Healers' face, "Miss Granger you do not seem to appreciate the gravity of the situation. By working for St Mungo's I also work for the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry wants to enforce laws Miss Granger, laws that you are obstructing. Not only that, but the circumstances of your arrival are very suspicious. So I'll ask again. How many children did the werewolf 343287, commonly known as Remus Lupin, give birth to?"

Flinching at the steel in his voice and risking a glance at Snape, who nodded to her unspoken question, she said "Five."

"How many are alive right now, to your knowledge?"

Hermione choked on a sob as she said, "Four."

"Where is the fifth?"

"She died, she's gone." A swish of black at the corner of her vision caught her eye. Snape was gone.

"Does Lupin currently have a partner?"

"He did."

Sneering, the Healer said, "What happened? He discovered his partner at full moon?"

"Sirius knew for years," Hermione hissed.

"Show me where the children are." The Healer commanded.

"No."

"Miss Granger, I can get the Law Enforcement Squad to pour Veritaserum down your throat, now, show me."

"Fine." Walking slowly to delay, but with a wand at her back, Hermione shouted "Burdock Cottage." to the fireplace. They were met by the house-elf Whippy.

"Hermione Granger, Hermione Granger, she dies." He exclaimed.

The Healer interrupted what promised to be a good conversation for time wasting, "Who died?"

"The baby, the poor baby Ebony. Lily and Ebony, both dead. Poor babies, poor babies."

"Show me," ordered the Healer

Whippy led the group up the stairs to find Penny, crying into her hands. Two babies lay still and three howled into their baskets. Hermione shut her eyes to stop her own tears. She hadn't tried hard enough. The Healer swept up Romulus, Stella and Severus, saying "These three will be taken into care. Dispose of the others as you will. Lupin will be sent home."

He disapparated with a crack

Sheer force of will that had been keeping her to her despairing feet failed, and Hermione fell to her knees, "My God, we failed him. I should have… they always said I could talk forever… why couldn't I…"

A noise distracted her and Snape came through the fireplace, a black eye blossoming on his face and a cut across the bridge of his nose, "Damn," his sharp face was full of anger, "Idiotic Weasleys, idiotic, stupid, bloody, Weasleys"

"They took them! I couldn't stop them!" Hermione said bleakly, "It's all my fault Professor. I should have taken longer."

Snape growled at her, "Quit being so self-pitying. The Weasleys got annoyed because I barged into their house with a squalling child whilst they were in the middle of a meal. All of them if I am right," he looked grim, "And Potter too. I think they were shocked to say the least. I had to explain quickly. I don't think they were satisfied"

"The other three got taken," said Hermione, but she was interrupted by a new noise

Remus emerged, shaking, pale and dishevelled, still in the stained clothes of before. It was obvious he should have still been in the hospitals, but werewolves weren't allowed to stay too long. He barely managed to stay upright as he stumbled towards Hermione and Snape. Snape automatically caught him as he fell.

"Sit down, Lupin, before you damage yourself more. I personally don't fancy going to St Mungo's any more today." he directed and Remus obeyed blindly

"Ebony… is she dead as well?" Remus asked as he knelt on the floor

"No, she's safe for now." said Hermione weakly, wringing her hands, "That's the illusion, Professor Snape did a Gemino of Lily, Ebony is at the Weasley's. But Remus… the other three… we lost them. They were taken by the Ministry."

Burying his head in his hand, Remus muttered, "They'll be better off without me."

Furiously, Snape said "I didn't get a black eye, a crushed hand and nurse you through a however long labour for you to give up now."

"And you didn't give them up after Sirius died, either." Hermione said more gently, "You love them, I can tell, and as a parent you have a duty to get them back."

"I always thought you were intelligent, Lupin, though you were always too cowardly to stick up to your friends at school, "said Snape, "Be a proper Gryffindor and be brave for once. Tend your children."

"I never thought you would ever encourage someone to be more Gryffindor, Severus," Remus said wryly, pulling himself together and getting to his feet, "But I don't think I can do anything right now."

"You should sleep for now, we have time." Hermione said, reminded of how awful Remus must feel.

Snape nodded his agreement, whilst watching Remus take trembling steps to his bed. Hermione bade a good night and slipped out of the room as Snape closed Remus' curtains with a wave of his wand.

"Why do this? You can just leave, Severus." Remus said weakly from under the thick covers.

Snape paused at the door, "You weren't as bad as Potter or Black, even if you were a beast. Besides, when I start something, I finish it."

"Thank you, Severs," Remus said, closing his eyes, then he snapped them open again, "Are you still scared of me? I could always smell it on you. After the Prank."

"Yes," admitted Snape, "But I've never let fear get the better of me," he stepped out, but turned at the last moment, "We will get them back."

**A/N: I was thinking of leaving it like this, but then I had an idea. BUT I like the whole "leaving it to your imagination" idea as well. So I'm going to make a sequel if you want it. If not, tell me so and scuttle away happy. **

**So yeah, this sequel idea: Hermione, Severus and remus fight to rescue the babies. The Weasleys are reluctant, Charlie participates a little, Harry plays a medium-sized role too. Remus can't go to court because werewolves have no legal standing and he would be likely to go to Azkaban. And a lot of angstyness. But no Snupin, that I promise for this fic. I wouldn't want him to be more than a favourite uncle. Oh and Dumbledore may play a special guest. **

**Opinions on this are gratefully, gratefully, gratefully appreciated. To help me decide whether or not to defiantly post this. Thank you for all the reviews so far! I appreciate every one, even after I finish. This fic brought me the most reviews in the shortest time, so I'm happy. **


	7. epilogue

Sighing slightly, Hermione looked at her calendar one last time. Tuesday September second 2008; the first day of four children's secondary school education. Hermione was the only one left alive who was originally entrusted with the secret of Remus and Sirius' children. Remus and Severus had been murdered on the last day of the war. In the hope that Ebony, Severus (Junior) and Stella would be at Hogwarts, Hermione had offered to take over teaching Transfiguration for a year. She already knew that Romulus would be attending Hogwarts, because his foster parents, the Montgomerys, had written in to the school, concerned that the half werewolf, renamed Fleance, would not be able to enter the school. Of course, he had been accepted at once by Headmaster Flitwick. She glanced around the almost bare study once more, and stepped out of the room to where Harry and Ron were both waiting.

"OK, I'm ready to go," she announced to the room at large.

Nervously, Harry grinned at her, and Ron wrapped his arms around her waist in an embrace. "You don't have to leave," he said, trying one last time to convince her to stay.

"Ron, how many times must I tell you?" said Hermione, admonishingly. "I have to go and help them come to terms with their identities. I was there at their birth. Everyone else is gone."

Ron ran his hand through his hair, and said, "You shouldn't have to."

Shrugging, Hermione told him, "I know, and it's not like I want to tell these four poor children that their fathers are both dead, that they were born illegally and that I am their only guardian left. Or that they had a sister that died,"

"And I'm not very keen on telling them that I abandoned their fathers when they wanted help the most," added Harry. "But it's the right thing to do."

"They need to know the truth, blah, blah, blah, I get it," groaned Ron, and then pressed a soft kiss to Hermione's forehead. "I'll miss you, so come back soon."

"Every weekend and all holidays," reassured Hermione, "And it's only for a year, nine months really. I just want to keep an eye on them, that's all. I'll be back before you know it."

Ron released her and stood back, "I'll be waiting for your return, pining by the door."

"No you won't," said Hermione, mockingly. "You'll be drinking, and leaving the house in a state, and getting up late."

"Speaking of getting to work late," said Harry, "We should leave."

"Off to teach," sighed Hermione, as she planted a kiss on her husband's lips, and left. Together, Harry and Hermione apparated to the front gates of Hogwarts, luggage in hands.

ooOoo

She took a deep, shuddering breath to calm herself. Much to Hermione's annoyance, Headmaster Flitwick had inherited Professor Dumbledore's secretive tendencies, and had refused to disclose any details about the day before when the first years had arrived and been sorted. So Hermione was stuck in the dark, with a class of eleven year olds outside the door, waiting to be taught by her. It was the last lesson of the day, so normally Hermione would expect to be exhausted by five hours of teaching, but she was far too jittery and nervous to feel tiredness.

Her hand hesitated on the door handle, as she realised that this was the first moment in ten years that she would be seeing one of Remus' children. The last she had seen of any of them was when Ebony was eighteen months old and Hermione had been forced to take her to an orphanage, because of Remus' death. It had been difficult, but no one could care for a baby in the aftermath of the war, and certainly not Hermione. She thought of the young girl often, and now she was going to meet her again, along, probably, with her siblings.

Forcing a smile onto her face, Hermione pulled the door open. "Come in class," she pleasantly said, "Take your seats in house order please." So I can see where on Earth you Lupin children have been sorted into.

The class filed in and took their seats, as Hermione walked to the front of the class room, and surveyed their faces. At once, she recognised Romulus, and then she stopped herself. _Fleance_ was a spitting image of Remus at a younger age, except his face was slightly fuller, and this made Hermione smile. At least the half werewolf was not suffering as his carrying father had, though he would probably look slightly worse for wear when it came to full moon. He was Gryffindor, like his fathers.

When she realised that no one else was identical to either Remus or Sirius, she started the lesson. "If everyone could please take out your textbooks, we're going to begin by reading about the basics of transfiguration before we start the practical part of the lesson," she said.

Once more she scanned the students and realised with a shock that they had twins in the class. She scanned the register for matching surnames, but there were none. Scrutinising, the small boy and girl, she saw dark blue eyes and black hair, so much like Sirius'. From across the classroom, they were sending confused look sat each other, the boy in Ravenclaw, the girl in Gryffindor. Hermione pointed to the young boy, "You, what's your name?"

Nervously, the boy glanced around him and said, "Me, I'm Severus."

Hermione's heart jumped in her chest, but she fought for control over her voice, and steadily said, "Please could you start the reading at the top of page five. Continue until I say to stop." That made three. The Gryffindor girl would either be Ebony or Stella then, but which one?

After a few minutes of Severus reading aloud, Hermione pleasantly said, "Thank you Severus, well done. For the last half, erm… you." She indicated the girl, "Please continue, from where Severus left off…" She trailed off expectantly.

"I'm Rosalie," she said, and Hermione nodded to her to start, though the muggleborn's mind was racing. She had been assured that Ebony would keep her name, and the toddler who she had taken to the orphanage was just old enough to recognise her own name anyway. That made her believe that this would be Stella. Ebony had Remus' amber as well as Romulus/Fleance, so it made sense that this would be Stella.

When Stella/Rosalie got to the end of the passage, Hermione set the class to try and transfigure a length of string into an elastic band. Slowly, she walked around the tables, scrutinising each female face, trying to identify Ebony. She was the one that Hermione wanted to see again the most, the one that she had helped to raise. She passed by girl after girl, who looked in no way like Remus or Sirius, until she got to the last girl.

She was in the corner of the classroom, in the Slytherin row. She raised large amber eyes from her thread when Hermione knelt by her table. Her long, chocolate brown hair fell by the sides of her face, and she was a petite build. Also Slytherin, defiantly Slytherin, according to her badge.

"Hi," said Hermione, trying to crush down the feeling that she'd done something wrong by taking Ebony to the orphanage, "I'm coming round and checking that everyone's OK. How are you finding it?"

"It's alright," the girl said, "I think it's becoming stretchy."

"That's great! Who are you?"

"I'm Ebony."

"Are you now?"

That was it then, all four of them were at Hogwarts. Stage one of the plan was complete. The minor complication of Remus and Sirius stirring in their metaphorical graves (Sirius' body was lost, Remus had been cremated) because their daughter was in Slytherin would have to be ignored.

ooOoo

At the end of the lesson, Hermione picked out the four Lupin-Black children and asked if they would stay behind. The rest of the year filed out with concerned glances at the others.

"I've been asked to speak with all of you," she said, and in a sense it was true. "Could you all bring your chairs and come sit up here?"

A few moments later she had four somewhat confused children seated by her desk.

"What is it Professor? Have we done something wrong?" asked Stella/Rosalie.

"No, not at all," said Hermione, hastily reassuring them. "All four of you have something in common. You need to know this."

"We're all in first year?" said Ebony.

"No," said Hermione guardedly, and then said, "Tell us about yourself Ebony, then maybe we'll find out." She didn't want to flat out tell the children about their heritage, in case they… freaked out.

"Well… my name is Ebony, I'm in Slytherin, I have two younger brothers, except they're not really my brothers. I was given up for adoption when I was one and a half. I…"

Severus interrupted and exclaimed, "Wait, you were adopted too?" He glanced nervously at Stella/Rosalie and said, "I was as well, except I was taken from my mother when I was only a day old."

"Me too," said Stella/Rosalie, "I've never known why though." They continued to stare at each other with a confused expression on each of their faces.

Gently, Hermione spoke to the one person who hadn't said anything yet, "Fleance? What about you?"

"I'm adopted too," he shortly said.

"But so what?" Ebony demanded, "So we are all adopted? Where do you come into all of this?"

Hermione stood and said, "If none of you protest, would you mind coming through to my rooms? I have someone who wants to meet you, and some things I want to show you."

Uncertain though they were, they followed her out of the classroom, into the Hallway and into her quarters opposite. They arrived in a plush looking living room, and Hermione waved them in to seats. "What I am about to say, you may not believe, but every word is the truth," she said, as stood in front of the fireplace and lit a fire behind the grate. "You are all siblings, firstly."

She turned around to find Ebony gaping up at her in disbelief, Romulus just looking up at her with his wide honey eyes, and Severus and Stella/Rosalie looking at each other, grinning. "I think the two of us guessed that," Severus said.

"How is that possible?" stuttered Ebony. "Those two, maybe, but me? They were abandoned at birth, me at eighteen months!"

Restraining a flinch at the word 'abandoned', Hermione sat down and said, "Please let me explain, without any interruptions," She drew in a deep breath and began, "Your parents had a difficult time. When one of them became pregnant, it was a shock indeed, but their love brought them through the difficulties that they were facing at the time. They weren't supposed to have children, you see, and then your Father died…" She explained how their other parent had been forced to go into hiding, and how at the birth there were problems that led to the discovery of the children, which led to them being taken away, except for Ebony.

At that point, Romulus/Fleance softly interjected, "Who were our parents? You haven't said."

"Your fathers… Remus Lupin and Sirius Black," Hermione sighed, "Let me…"

"Our fathers?" exclaimed Stella/Rosalie, confusing creasing her forehead, "What in Merlin's name do you mean?"

"Let me show you," Hermione said, and she walked out of the room with a glance at them to stay. No one moved, and no one talked until she came back, four identical books in her hands. "I go this idea from a friend of mine who lost his parents. In here, you have pictures of your fathers, and I know you will see parts of yourself in them. There's also the house you were born into, and own between you, and you Ebony were raised there. There's a photo of your first birthday in there…"

Severus cut across her and said, "A photograph of a grave?"

"Yes, your older sister. Only by a few minutes, but she was the first born. She died."

Running his fingers over a picture, Romulus/Fleance said, "So it was my father who was the werewolf. I always wondered."

"Well technically, it was your dad. Remus was your dad, and Sirius was your father. Remus was the lycanthrope," she came nearer and knelt on the floor, so she could point out who was who.

"Werewolf? What do you mean?" demanded Stella/Rosalie, looking slightly scared.

"Remus was a werewolf, and we all loved him nevertheless. They were both great friends and great wizards," Hermione said.

"It must have been terribly hard, to be a pregnant werewolf back then. I read that the laws were brutal," said Romulus/Fleance.

"His greatest fear was that they would take you away, so he hid himself."

"You keep saying 'was'," said Ebony, "Did he die as well?"

Hermione nodded, "On the last day of the war, he died defending Hogwarts and Harry Potter. I was the only one left, and I'm afraid to say that I had to take you to the orphanage Ebony."

"I don't understand," interrupted Stella/Rosalie. "It says here that the children were called Lily, Ebony, Romulus, Severus and Stella, and I'm none of these."

Patiently, Hermione explained, "You were taken from Remus in a Moses basket, which had your name engraved on it. Your adoptive parents must have changed your name."

Romulus/Fleance raised a hand and said, "I can attest to that. Frankly, I prefer the name Romulus."

Hermione laughed quietly and said, "Both of you can choose what you want to be known as, I expect. But there's someone who wants to meet you."

Harry walked in, and all four children squeaked their surprise at the appearance of the tall, broad Auror, who nervously grinned. "Hi, I owe the four of you an apology. Your father and your dad were always good friends to me, father figures in a way. I mean, your father was my godfather, and I'm babbling, and I've wanted to get this off my chest for years." He took a deep, steadying breath. "I was too caught up in my own troubles to help them, and then were Sirius died, I didn't want to talk about it. So I didn't speak to your dad when he was pregnant, alone and in need of help. I haven't been able to forgive myself for that, so I want to make it up to them by being here for you."

Suddenly, he turned to Hermione and asked, "What did I say?"

Hermione looked over at the four children, and found Stella/Rosalie crying openly, Ebony sniffing, Severus had his eyes covered, and Romulus looked pale, shaken. "This is difficult to come to terms with, isn't it?" Hermione whispered. She took a place on the sofa between Ebony and Romulus, and Harry did the same with the other two, wrapping his arms around them and letting them sob into his shoulders.

He realised how shocking this day must have been for the four children. They had learnt that their parents had died, though no doubt they had hoped they would come one day and find them. They found they had siblings, who they never knew about, and that Harry Potter of all people was going to be like a brother to them.

"It's alright," Hermione whispered, gently rubbing up and down Romulus' thin arm, and Ebony's shuddering back, "You have a family now. We found you."

**A.N: I chucked finding the line, I'm no good at writing adventure stories. Or romance, or humour, or parody, or… well anything particularly jovial or too complicated. God I'm depressing. Anyway, that's actually it. I need to end this fic.**


End file.
